Today’s Gospel was full of meaning for Jesus’ contemporaries, for the early Christian communities, for Christians throughout all of history, and continues to be a call to action today. It would do us all good to slow down and consider how Jesus is speaking specifically to our hearts.
Jesus never said His message would leave us comfortable. In fact, most, if not all of Jesus’ teachings are meant to shake us awake so we can make a change. And the change Jesus desires is often hard, uncomfortable and unpopular. The following questions are inspired by Jesus’ teaching today and they are hard. They are meant to make you think critically about the world we’ve made and how Jesus is asking us to do His work in it:
Do you use social media in a way that brings people to greater unity or disunity? Do you seek to understand the opinions of others who see the world differently from you, or do you content yourself with those with similar viewpoints to your own? When was the last time you invited someone from outside your usual circle of friends to eat a meal with you? When was the last time you prayed for someone you disagree with, asking God to bless them with good things? How much time in the last 6 months have you spent doing acts of service, thinking especially about the poor, undervalued and forgotten of society? When thinking about hot button issues, do you get so caught up in the opinions and rhetoric you forget you are conversing with another beloved child of God? Do you regularly examine your conscience, asking the Holy Spirit to reveal to you the areas of your life God desires you to grow in?
These questions make me uncomfortable when I consider them. I am writing to myself just as much as anyone reading. None of us are perfect, but we are called to the perfection that is found through Jesus’ power working in our lives. Perfection is found when we see one another as He sees, when we love as He loves.
The greatest prize we can hope to achieve is heaven. We will arrive there by following Jesus’ example of testimony, witness to the truth, compassion and ultimately, love. We trust in God’s merciful judgment of our actions when we come face to face with Him.
El Evangelio de hoy estuvo lleno de significado para los contemporáneos de Jesús, para las primeras comunidades cristianas, para los cristianos a lo largo de toda la historia, y sigue siendo un llamado a la acción hoy. Nos haría bien a todos reducir la velocidad y considerar cómo Jesús está hablando específicamente a nuestros corazones.
Jesús nunca dijo que Su mensaje nos dejaría cómodos. De hecho, la mayoría, si no todas las enseñanzas de Jesús están destinadas a despertarnos para que podamos hacer un cambio. Y el cambio que Jesús desea es a menudo duro, incómodo e impopular. Las siguientes preguntas están inspiradas en la enseñanza de Jesús hoy y son difíciles. Están destinados a hacerte pensar críticamente sobre el mundo que hemos hecho y cómo Jesús nos pide que hagamos Su trabajo dentro de él:
¿Utilizo las redes sociales de una manera que lleve a las personas a una mayor unidad o a la desunión? ¿Busco comprender las opiniones de otros que ven el mundo de manera diferente, o me contento con aquellos que tienen puntos de vista similares a los míos? ¿Cuándo fue la última vez que invité a alguien fuera de mi círculo habitual de amigos a comer? ¿Cuándo fue la última vez que oré por alguien con quien no estoy de acuerdo, pidiéndole a Dios que lo bendiga con cosas buenas? ¿Cuánto tiempo en los últimos 6 meses he dedicado a hacer actos de servicio, pensando especialmente en los pobres, menospreciados y olvidados de la sociedad? Cuando pienso en temas candentes, ¿me enredo tanto en las opiniones y la retórica que olvido que estoy conversando con otro hijo amado de Dios? ¿Examino regularmente mi conciencia, pidiéndole al Espíritu Santo que me revele las áreas de mi vida en las que Dios desea que crezca?
Estas preguntas me hacen sentir incómodo cuando las considero. Me estoy escribo a mí misma al igual que mis lectores. Ninguno de nosotros es perfecto, pero estamos llamados a la perfección que se encuentra a través del poder de Jesús obrando en nuestras vidas. La perfección se encuentra cuando nos vemos unos a otros como Él ve, cuando amamos como Él ama.
El mayor premio que podemos aspirar a alcanzar es el cielo. Llegaremos allí siguiendo el ejemplo del testimonio de Jesús, testimonio de la verdad, de la compasión y, en definitiva, del amor. Confiamos en el juicio misericordioso de Dios sobre nuestras acciones cuando nos encontramos cara a cara con Él.
Kate Taliaferro is an Air Force wife and mother. She is blessed to be able to homeschool, bake bread and fold endless piles of laundry. When not planning a school day, writing a blog post or cooking pasta, Kate can be found curled up with a book or working with some kind of fiber craft. Kate blogs at DailyGraces.net.
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A lover of Jesus Christ, a wife, and a mother of five, Christine is the author of Everyday Heroism: 28 Daily Reflections on the Little Way of Motherhood. She is a graduate of Franciscan University, an instructor for the Institute for Excellence in Writing, and an experienced catechist. Thrilled to have recently become grandparents, she and her husband currently live in Upstate, NY. Visit her author webpage at 
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Dakota lives in Denver, CO with her husband, Ralph, and their two sons, Alfie & Theophilus. She is the Dean of Enrollment Management for Bishop Machebeuf High School where her husband also teaches. You can find Dakota at the zoo or a brewery with her family or with her nose in a book at home. For more of Dakota’s writing check out 
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